To Have on-Site Detention System in the Oldest Settlement of Kuching City by Manipulating Road Surfaces to Capture & Store Stormwater
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Urban centers, or sometimes simply cities, have higher population density along with various infrastructure features (Li, 2010). Such areas are supporting an increasing population growth rate which is posing a significant impact to the quality of infrastructures being provided (Department of Environment and Resource Management, 2010). As stormwater drainage system is one of the vital infrastructures in urban centers, it encounters degradation that brings along flash flood, pollution, erosion, sedimentation and others.
To this end, urban water professionals across the globe continually seek and research methods in transitioning current cities into water sensitive cities. In Brown et al. (2008), the authors cited Professor Tony Wong, CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) that, “Water sensitive cities are resilient, liveable, productive and sustainable.” A water sensitive city would differ significantly from conventional urban water approaches which require a major socio-technical overhaul. The city of Kuching too is adopting this process.
1.2 Problem Statement
During the rule of James Brooke, Kuching became the seat of Brooke government and undergone substantial changes. One of the early founded Padungan area, became an important route of Kuching City which is ever busy up to this day. It is inevitable that the urban stormwater drainage system available in Padungan is challenged by its old age. Due to the historical heritage value of the commercial lots within Padungan, it cannot be taken down for rebuild. Figure 1 is the view of Padungan area.
Figure 1: Sky view of Padungan area
(location map obtained from google maps)
Physical development encourages more paved roads, retarding the process of water dissipation which results in accumulation of runoff water; endangering road users and when the situation worsens, flooding throughout the area is bound to occur. There are various ways to overcome the
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background
Urban centers, or sometimes simply cities, have higher population density along with various infrastructure features (Li, 2010). Such areas are supporting an increasing population growth rate which is posing a significant impact to the quality of infrastructures being provided (Department of Environment and Resource Management, 2010). As stormwater drainage system is one of the vital infrastructures in urban centers, it encounters degradation that brings along flash flood, pollution, erosion, sedimentation and others.
To this end, urban water professionals across the globe continually seek and research methods in transitioning current cities into water sensitive cities. In Brown et al. (2008), the authors cited Professor Tony Wong, CEO of the Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) that, “Water sensitive cities are resilient, liveable, productive and sustainable.” A water sensitive city would differ significantly from conventional urban water approaches which require a major socio-technical overhaul. The city of Kuching too is adopting this process.
1.2 Problem Statement
During the rule of James Brooke, Kuching became the seat of Brooke government and undergone substantial changes. One of the early founded Padungan area, became an important route of Kuching City which is ever busy up to this day. It is inevitable that the urban stormwater drainage system available in Padungan is challenged by its old age. Due to the historical heritage value of the commercial lots within Padungan, it cannot be taken down for rebuild. Figure 1 is the view of Padungan area.
Figure 1: Sky view of Padungan area
(location map obtained from google maps)
Physical development encourages more paved roads, retarding the process of water dissipation which results in accumulation of runoff water; endangering road users and when the situation worsens, flooding throughout the area is bound to occur. There are various ways to overcome the